Used to be a Infanter dealt with lots of things that could damage destory my body. Was my job then as sinfull as a prostitutes or an assasins? Of course not. Yes your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit where does this Spirit dwell your soul so keep your soul clean and ready for God do dwell in you. We are not Greeks worshiping the body. Yes cigarets can cause various health problems and one would do well to advoid smoking for those reasons and although this act can lead to death so can driving a car walking down the street eating McDonalds. Heathliness is not Holiness so maximaly smoking is a venial sin. Besides death is a good/bad thing and one may court martyrdom the evil of suicide is that it is an act of hate towards life and Gods supreme dominion over it.
The question of the morality of smoking would seem to be one of reasonably picking the best balance between value delivered. versus harm done. For your analogies, the value delivered is very apparent. Driving a car can provide great benefit, walking down the street can, and even eating at McDonalds can provide great benefit to a person (we all need to eat to live). Virtually all accept these things as providing a reasonable amout of good, considering the risk that results.
For smoking (or more precisely, the amount) to be considered moral, the benefit to ourselves and others must reasonably outweigh the risks associated with the action. A risk dimension of cigarettes that does not generally exist with automobiles, walking, and McDonalds, is one of addiction. The risk of addiction to cigarettes is well known. This risk exists even with ‘moderate’ use. ‘Moderate’ use (perhaps one cigarette a day, or less), which might otherwise be justifiable considering benefits the user obtained versus the other minor risks, has to also weigh in the great risk of addiction, which will necessarily be a very bad thing.
For smoking anymore than 1 cigarette a day, I would challenge any one to justify the damage to themselves, their family, and to their neighbors (society) that naturally results from smoking, against the benefits that are delivered. The benefits are almost entirely selfish; the satisfaction of an unnatural urge that resulted form allowing oneself to become addicted. The costs to themselves and others is very great. Most smokers will irrationally seek to ignore or diminish the cost of their smoking to the world. What are the costs? This is not meant to be a complete list, but it is significant nonetheless.
Increased risk of death.
Decrease in physical ability.
The significant risk of the financial burden they place on their families and society if they do get ill.
Time spent smoking reduces the amount of time we have for our jobs, and sometimes our family (I see a lot of smokers nowadays sitting on the porch by themselves because they are at least considerate enough not to smoke around their family. But their family loses out still.)
They generally allow their care for others to diminish, they become complacent to the direct consequences others have to bear as a result of their smoking. (They tend to litter profusely, they force others to breathe their smoke, they force others to pay [through insurance, Medicare and Medicaid] for their smoking induced ills). It takes much reduction in our true care for others for one’s conscience to tolerate the things that that are done to others as a result of smoking.
Expenditures reduce family resources, to the extent the smoker is responsible for a family.
Expenditures spent on cigarettes reduce our ability to be financially generous.
What are the benefits? Exercising the freedom to stay addicted?
That would seem to be clearly an unreasonable amount of cost and risk for a very small and selfish benefit.
Dan
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